COLLECTIBLE, founded in 2018 by Clélie Debehault and Liv Vaisberg, is an international fair dedicated to contemporary collectible design. This year, from the 9th to the 12th of March, it will be held for the first time at the Sheds de Tour & Taxis in Brussels – the same venue as the Art Brussels and the BRAFA Art Fair. This growth is reflected in the wide array of featured artwork as well as in the creation of new sections.
© Eva Donckers
Conversation with Liv Vaisberg and Clélie Debehault.
In recent years, leading international galleries have emerged, private collections have opened up to the public, Kanal Pompidou and Wiels (COLLECTIBLE!) have seized Brussels. What has triggered this dynamic?
Being a bilingual city, with blended culture and a slightly surrealist side, Brussels is a unique city, unlike any other in Europe. A lot of the things going on can only happen here. We couldn't have created COLLECTIBLE anywhere else, and the immediate success with the local audience confirmed that Brussels was the right choice. The Belgian public is very sensitive to art and culture, and embraced experimental design, which they weren’t necessarily familiar with. This audience likes risk-taking forms of art and culture, while also being particularly sensitive to the quality and know-how of our creators.
Lewis Kemmenoe, Hard Knocks - Courtesy Radford Gallery
COLLECTIBLE is challenging the codes and is a proof that contemporary design can combine creativity, aesthetics, and functionality.
Contemporary design has experienced an unprecedented dynamic in recent years, which can be related to the birth of expressionism, a little over a century ago. Design has never felt so free. Often, opting for collectible design is not a choice, but rather a matter of course for designers who wish to express themselves through the use of noble materials. It’s also a virtuous production method that distances them from mass production and leads them to create unique, handmade pieces. No brand or mass production is accepted, only unique pieces, ethical and sustainable production, as well as functionality. The latter is essential to us. Our purpose has always been the following: it is not because a piece is functional that it has less value than a work of art. Collectors and institutions still segment art, design, and craftsmanship, whereas artists, artisans and designers no longer distinguish the boundary between these disciplines.
Etage Projects, Anna Aagaard Jensen, Dining with Daisy Table #1, 2022 - Polyurethane Foam, Styrofoam, Steel, Fiberglas, Acrylic Resin, Paint coated with PU - Unique
It’s a virtuous circle. Providing visibility and credibility to the most creative and risk-taking designers will validate them in the eyes of both private and institutional collectors. You vouch for their approach.
Exactly. That was the idea behind COLLECTIBLE. We have always focused on all types of audiences to support our exhibitors’ careers. Museums and other institutions have always been our target. Every year, we include a museum director among our exhibitors and organise talks with them. We also joined forces with the three Belgian design museums that have a stand each year: the Design Museum Brussels, the CID Grand-Hornu in Mons, the Design Museum Gent, as well as Z33. It is crucial that our designers are seen, made known, and eventually acquired by institutions. This allows them to be further validated in the eyes of the public and collectors. If this is obvious for contemporary art, there is still work to be done in contemporary design. Nevertheless, our collectible designers have recently been featured in leading institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Design Museum London, and the Centre Pompidou. This goes to show that things are changing.
SINOPLE Gallery - Laetitia-Jacquetton, Adige © Charlotte Debauge
Overview
The Main section gathers artists across design, architecture and art, with new exhibitors such as Galerie Vivid, Sinople, Etage Projects (Denmark) and Maison Commun alongside regulars including Galerija VARTAI (Lithuania), Mia Karlova (Amsterdam), Florian Daguet-Bresson (France), PANOPTIKUM COLLECTIONS feat NOOM (Ukraine), or Radford Gallery (United Kingdom).
This year, the Bespoke section focuses on unusual and innovative materials – high-tech, bio-material, recycled material or special hand-made artisanal techniques – created by designers such as Carla Baz (Beirut), FRESH. GLASS X LAVDANSKYWORKSHOP (Russia), Maarten De Ceulaer (Brussels), Christophe Gevers (Belgium), Lionel Jadot (Zaventem), Waiting For Ideas (Paris), Isabella Lobkowicz (Italy), or ÆTHER/MASS (Schaerbeek).
New Garde shines a spotlight on new galleries and collectives of artists to keep an eye on, namely Fābula Gallery (Russia), MAISON COMMUN (Belgium), SALT Gallery (Tel Aviv), Ia Kutateladze (Germany/Georgia), and Arthur Vandergucht (Belgium)
Dedicated to emerging and mid-career independent designers and design studios, "engaged in a trajectory of recognition", the CURATED – WHAT IS YOUR STORY section is chaired and curated by artist and designer Leo Orta, in a scenography by Heim + Viladrich Office. Participants include Louise Begue Teissier (Paris), Zuzanna Spaltabaka (Warsaw), Christoph Wimmer-Ruelland (Vienna), Max Funkat (Berlin), Yuma Kano (Tokyo), Dilara Kan Hon (Istanbul), Maria Tsilogianni (Athens), WKND Lab (Seoul), Didi NG Wing Yin (Helsinki), Atelier Duyi Han (Shanghai), Coline Le Quenven (London), EDXXKAT (Milan), Earthstone (Brussels), and Annelie Grimwade (Sweden).
Last but not least, the ARCHITECT <=> DESIGNER section, dedicated to architects and interior designers — selected by Belgian interior designer Nicolas Schuybroek — who wish to showcase recently created furniture, features Edgar Jayet (Paris / Venice), Corpus Studio (Paris), AdriAn Blanc (Paris), Marion Bernard Architectes (Marseille), and Benni Allan presented by Béton Brut (London).
Béton Brut presents Benni Allan, Low Collection (2022) © Benni Allan
COLLECTIBLE - From 9 to 12 March at Tour & Taxis
Translation: Anna Savage
